Govt college teachers to hold dharnas on Jan 22

The State Council of Punjab Government College Teachers Association has announced said that teachers of all the government colleges would organise stay-in dharnas in their respective colleges on January 22 from 11 am to 1 pm to protest the state governments decision to implement MHRD notification.

The State Council of Punjab Government College Teachers Association (PGCTA) has announced said that teachers of all the government colleges would organise stay-in dharnas in their respective colleges on January 22 from 11 am to 1 pm to protest the state governments decision to implement MHRD notification.

The council in a meeting held at Government College for Women on Sunday further said if the government still did not implement MHRD notification in toto,the teachers would have no option than to proceed on mass casual leave on January 28,and hold a mass dharna in Chandigarh on January 28.

Meanwhile the members present in the meeting endorsed the decisions taken by PFUCTO (Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations) on January 8.

The state council congratulated the leadership of AIFUCTO for getting a very good pay scales modification by MHRD. It said though a few anamolies still existed,which had already been taken up by AIFUCTO with UGC and MHRD,yet the grades were by and large to the satisfaction of teaching community.

The state government has been discriminating against the college and university teachers in Punjab by denying them 5 per cent interim relief,which has been given to all its employees since November 2006. We were denied as UGC/MHRD had not given it. But now as MHRD has sent its notification to the state government,it is still silent,despite the fact that 80 per cent of the additional financial burden is to be borne out by the Central government up to March 31,2010, observed the members.

Prof Jaipal Singh,president,Punjab GCTA,has urged all the members to participate in the agitation even as he urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to implement these pay scales immediately to avoid any academic loss to the students.